Calls for 'destructive' NAPLAN to be scrapped

The New South Wales government has struck out at NAPLAN, calling for it to be scrapped in the face of federal government opposition.

The federal government is staring down demands to scrap the standardised tests across primary and secondary schools, as state ministers pore over the details of businessman David Gonski's calls for a curriculum overhaul.

There's suggestions teachers are focusing too much on preparing students for the tests in years three, five, seven and nine and not enough on overall learning.

However, Labor leader Bill Shorten says there's no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but as a parent he can see negatives to be addressed.

"I'd like to see on a bipartisan basis people work toward seeing how we can improve it, deal with the concerns expressed by frontline teachers and parents but not automatically junk the whole policy overnight," he said.

NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes is using today's Education Council meeting in Adelaide to ask that NAPLAN be urgently scrapped, arguing the national scheme is being used dishonestly.

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Backed by teachers and the state's Labor opposition, Mr Stokes will urge the federal government to replace NAPLAN with a less "high stakes" test that assessed each student's progress, as recommended by Mr Gonski.

"There is almost a universal consensus across the education community that NAPLAN is destructive, it’s crude, it encourages teaching to the test and it sits outside the curriculum and narrows what is taught," federation president Maurie Mulheron said.

"Just in the last couple of weeks, we’ve had the Parents Council and other parent bodies come out saying very clearly that they want to see NAPLAN continue, that they value NAPLAN, that it gives parents information about the literacy and numeracy skills of their children and how that’s comparing."

Senator Birmingham wants the states and territories to focus on the main game.

"What we need to do today though is get on with agreeing to work out the implementation stages around this Gonski report," he said.

Mr Gonski's second report into Australian schools highlighted a decade of declining education outcomes to argue the nation's aspiration for excellence was in jeopardy.